Improved apparatus for tempering steel wire



J. HALLAS.

Apparatus for Temperng Wire.

Patented May 28, 1867.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE,

JOHN HALLAS, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR TEMPERING SSTEEL WIRE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent NO. 65,215, (lated May QS, 1867.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, JOHN HALLAs, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented acertain new and useful Improvement on Hardening and Temperin g Steel W'ire for Hoop-Skirts and 'other Purposes, of which the :following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, and in which- Figure l represents a vertical longitudinal section of an apparatus constructed according to my improvement, and Fig. 2 a plan of the furnace portion of the same.

Like letters indicate like parts in both iigures.

In hardening and tempering steel wiresuch as, for instance, that used in the mannfacture of hoop-skirts-the green wire, as it is called, is ordinarily fed or unwrapped in a loose manner from a Wheel or drum, and passed, for the purpose of heating it, through a pot of molten metal, or, it may be, other medium, said wire being entered at one end of the furnace and passed out through the opposite end, after which it is led through an oil or other bath to chill or harden it, and from thence into and through a tempering-pot of molten metal or other medium, after which it is run forward or extended, and, when sufficiently cool by thus running it through va length of space, wrapped on a winding-drum, or otherwise coiled or massed.

Such process or method of operation is adopted in this my invention, which, however, differs from previous arrangements in the following important respects: Said process, as heretofore carried out, has involved such a large amount of space in length, owing to the several operations on or exposures of the wire here detailed being conducted in one and the same line or run, as to make it impracticable to carry on the work in an ordinary-sized shop, While by my improvement the one feature of which consistsV in establishing a return course for the wire during the process or processes to which it is subjected, as before described, space in length of room occupied is so largely economized as to allow of the work being conducted in a moderatelysized shop; also, and

'which is another feature of my invention, by

such return arrangement I am enabled to use the same furnace for heating the temperingpot as is employed to heat the pot through which the wire is iirst passed in its way to the hardening-bath, thus economizin g fuel, room, and cost of construction.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, A represents the wheel or drum from which the green wire is fed in a loose manner to and through the heating -pot B of, say, molten metal, situated within a furnace, C, the wire S entering and passing out through apertures in the ends of the furnace, and afterward being, caused to pass through the oil or other hardening or chilling bath D, from whence, instead of being run forward in the same line, it is passed round or over a pulley, E, and returned or led back to and through the tempering-pot, F, of molten metal or other suitable medium, and then passed some distance farther ba-ck, till sufficiently cool so as not to take set, to be wound on a wheel or drum, G, which maybe geared with the front pulley, E, to equalize their run, or nearly so, in order to prevent the Windingdrum drawing too tightly on the wire and injuring or snapping it.

By this return run of the wire, in the course of its undergoing the several processes named, the saving of space before referred to is produced, and both the feed and winding drums being on the same side of the furnace, and comparatively adjacent, the same workman may attend to the regulation of both the feed -and take-up motion, or be on hand to correct irregularity in either.

Furthermore, by this arrangement, though the tempering-pot F may be otherwise arranged, and, if desired, heated by a separate furnace, I am enabled to locate it on or in connection with the furnace C, which heats the first pot, B, and by means of dampers H, for controlling the supply of heat through an opening or openings, b, to regulate the temperature of the tempering mass in the pot F, to give a proper temper to the wire.

By thus using the same furnace for both pots B and F, which cannot be done without returning the Wire, as described, fuel. is economized, and the space, cost, and labor of working a second furnace saved.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an apparatus for hardening and tenipering wire', substantially of the character described, causing the Wire, after it has passed through .the heatingpot in the furnace, or through the latter and oil or other bath, to be run or returned in its passage through the tempering-pot, for after-collection or take-up,

to the same side of the furnace from which the green wire Was fed, substantially as specified. 2. The arrangement, on or in connection with the same furnace in which is located the first or heating pot, B, of the tempering-pot F, having its temperature controlled by dampers, essentially as and for the purpose or purposes herein set forth.

JOHN HALLAS. Witnesses:

J. W. GooMBs, G. W. REED. 

